The Nord Stream Incident: Open Briefing Oct. 2024

 The Nord Stream Incident: Open Briefing

 

Tomorrow morning (4 October), the Security Council will convene for an open briefing under the “Threats to international peace and security” agenda item. Russia requested the meeting to mark the two-year anniversary of the 26 September 2022 explosions that caused physical damage to the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Uncharacteristically for a Council briefing, no briefers are anticipated.

Background

Nord Stream is a set of offshore natural gas pipelines, comprising Nord Stream 1 (NS1) and Nord Stream 2 (NS2), which run from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea. Between 26 and 29 September 2022, four leaks were detected in NS1 and NS2, near the island of Bornholm in Denmark. The leaks occurred in international waters within the economic zones of Denmark and Sweden. Following the incident, Danish, German, and Swedish officials launched separate investigations into the leaks. Russia expressed interest in joining the investigations, citing concerns that the leaks may have been a deliberate act of terrorism. (For background, see our 7 November 2023 What’s in Blue story.)

In a 21 February 2023 letter to the Council, Denmark, Germany and Sweden noted that the investigations established that “powerful explosions due to sabotage” caused the damage to the pipelines. On 18 November 2022, Swedish authorities reported that “foreign items” containing “explosive residue” were found near the site. In February, Danish and Swedish authorities informed the Council that they had closed their respective investigations, citing insufficient grounds to pursue a criminal case.

In June, according to media reports, German authorities issued an arrest warrant for Volodymyr Zhuravlev, a Ukrainian diving instructor suspected of involvement in the Nord Stream explosions and believed to be residing in Poland. Zhuravlev reportedly evaded arrest by crossing the border into Ukraine. German investigators subsequently accused Poland of failing to execute the arrest and search warrants, alleging obstruction of the investigation. Poland has apparently rejected such accusations. At a 14 September public event in Prenzlau, Germany, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reportedly referred to the explosions as a “terrorist act”.

In August, the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, published an article claiming that the Nord Stream explosions were ordered by Valerii Zaluzhnyi, then Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and carried out by a team of Ukrainian citizens. Zaluzhnyi currently serves as Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK. Referring to this article in a 16 August letter to the Security Council, Russia argued that “media reports leave no doubt that the [German] authorities…have some information to share with the international community”. In response, Denmark, Germany, and Sweden sent a letter to the Council on 9 September, emphasising that “[m]edia reports do not replace the investigations, which require confidentiality”. The letter also noted that Germany’s investigations are ongoing and continue to be conducted “impartially, independently, and in line with fundamental principles of the rule of law”.

In March, the Russian foreign ministry sent notes verbales to the Moscow embassies of Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland, alleging non-compliance with their obligations under the 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and the 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. Russia has since filed pre-trial claims against the four countries. The dispute is apparently in the pre-trial resolution stage. If the issue is not resolved through this process, however, Moscow has signalled its intention to appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The Security Council has engaged on the Nord Stream issue several times since the September 2022 incident. Russia first convened a Security Council briefing on 30 September 2022, during which Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Navid Hanif noted that the UN was “not in a position to verify or confirm any of the reported details related to the incident”.

On 27 March 2023, the Council voted on a draft resolution on the Nord Stream incident. The draft text, prepared by Russia and co-sponsored by several UN member states, condemned the “act of sabotage” on NS1 and NS2 and requested the Secretary-General to establish an international, independent commission to investigate the incident. The draft resolution failed to be adopted because it did not garner the requisite support, having received three votes in favour (Brazil, China, and Russia) and 12 abstentions. (For background, see our 26 March What’s in Blue story.)

Since then, Russia has convened eight Council meetings to discuss the Nord Stream incident: four under “any other business”, three briefings, and one meeting held in closed consultations. After the 26 September 2023 briefing, Russia circulated a draft presidential statement. However, after several weeks of difficult negotiations, Russia withdrew the draft text from consideration. In April, Russia introduced another draft presidential statement, but once again failed to achieve consensus among Council members. On 30 August, Russia circulated a new draft presidential statement to Council members. Negotiations on this draft text are ongoing.

Tomorrow’s Meeting

At tomorrow’s meeting, Russia is expected to criticise what it perceives as reluctance by German authorities to share information about their investigations. During a press briefing on 28 September, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Berlin of withholding information from the Security Council. She further claimed that “the US and its partners” blocked the adoption of the draft presidential statement proposed by Russia in October 2023.

It seems that the negotiations on the latest Russian-proposed presidential statement have been challenging. While some have members expressed support for the initiative, several Council members have raised concerns about the text, arguing that it could undermine Germany’s ongoing national investigations. Members are currently discussing the fourth draft of the text.

Tomorrow, Council members are likely to underscore that critical civilian infrastructure must be protected, while some may emphasise the need to ensure accountability for the Nord Stream incident. At the Council’s last briefing on this issue on 26 April, China called for the launch of a UN-led international investigation. Algeria, noting its three gas pipelines to Europe, expressed support for the ongoing German investigations and “for any future international effort, particularly under the auspices of the [UN]”.

While Russia may argue that the ongoing German investigations do not diminish the need for an impartial international investigation into the incident, several members are expected to emphasise the importance of the Council avoiding actions that could politicise the issue, interfere with or delegitimise national proceedings, or prejudge their outcomes.

Some Council members—including the P3 (France, the UK, and the US)—may criticise Russia for convening tomorrow’s meeting. At the 26 April briefing, the US accused Russia of using these meetings “to spread disinformation, cast aspersions and discredit ongoing national investigations”. The US also highlighted what it described as a double standard, noting that while Russia calls for an international investigation into the Nord Stream incident, it vetoed a 28 March draft resolution that would have extended the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1718 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions Committee. Similarly, the UK said that “it is hypocritical of Russia to spend so much time drawing the Security Council’s attention to one act of sabotage on national infrastructure, while at the same time it is deliberately and systematically conducting its own attacks on national infrastructure in Ukraine”